
Dan Stocke
Get Down, Duluth
Back in the day, a trip to downtown Duluth meant visiting the fast-beating heart of the city.
Superior Street and the parallel numbered streets were packed with major department and specialty stores, banks and business offices and entertainment venues.
“In its heyday, downtown Duluth was a regional destination shopping center,” says Tom Livingston, co-founder of Destination Duluth. Tom’s father owned Livingston’s Big Duluth, a men’s clothing store, in those days.
Jay Seiler of Security Jewelers remembers that era. “I grew up in this business. My father would send me on errands when I was 9 years old, and it would take me half an hour, stopping at all the shops along the way.”
For Duluth as for other cities across the nation, the rise of large and small malls at the fringes of the cities, with their expansive parking lots, first nibbled and then took a huge bite out of the downtown experience. The department stores moved to where the customers were flocking and the city main streets grew quieter.
No more – Duluth is undergoing a downtown revival. In less than a decade, the city’s heart once again feels more like its hub of activity. Once-empty, worn-out buildings have been revitalized by owners and have found small business tenants who sell boutique goods or specialty, hand-designed items worth a trip downtown. Entertainment sites and restaurants have sprung up, along with a classy martini bar, a couple of lively Irish pubs and a range of coffee shops. And soon a major retailer will join the mix and a loyal Duluth company that has international ties is investing in an impressive downtown headquarters. Vital, multiple cityscape residences, many with spectacular Lake views, are drawing new people to the city center.
“Downtown has so many things to offer,” notes Kathy Marinac, local property manager for Sherman Associates. “The beauty of the Lake, uniqueness of the setting, historic buildings and activities that take place.”
Her company sees a future here and continues to invest and redevelop in Duluth.

Jack Rendulich
Get Down, Duluth
At twilight, the rich blue of Lake Superior contrasts with the city lights of downtown Duluth.
Today the downtown area prides itself on not being a mall. A strong theme running through the perspective of current retail owners is the opportunity to provide something unique. And in an environment with character.
“We don’t have the window shoppers anymore,” Jay says. “Now people come downtown for a purpose. We have strong retailers downtown, and they consider themselves a destination. … I would not want to be anywhere else.”
Being downtown fits perfectly with Wendy Myers’ approach to merchandising. As owner of Apricot Lane Duluth, a trendy fashion boutique, she strives to provide an individual shopping experience for her customers.
“People come downtown looking for something different. I focus on custom looks and only order a few of each item.”
Indeed the downtown resurgence is bringing a new flavor to the area. “It’s being revived with a different character,” observes Tami LaPole Edmunds, who with her husband, Dan Edmunds, moved Art in the Alley to downtown Duluth from Superior. Tami and Dan also opened a second shop across the street, Art in the Alley Home, that also features handcrafted items.
“There is more entertainment than shopping,” Tami says, “and there is a different vibe.”
In fact, although she owns boutique retail shops, Tami considers them more like tourist attractions. “The No. 1 thing I hear people say about my shops is that they are so much fun. And people thank me all the time for being downtown.”
Specialty shops are a great part of the revival with such new businesses as the glassblowing artists who showcase and demonstrate their works at Lake Superior Art Glass to the dog boutique at A Place for Fido in the Fitger’s Brewery Complex. There are florists, jewelers, clothing and antique stores.
Development of an arts district downtown is not a coincidence. The A.H. Zeppa Foundation and its subsidiary Zeitgeist Arts intentionally moved downtown in 2007.
“As an artist and an actor, Alan Zeppa (trustee and chairman) wanted a place for theater to grow,” says Tony Cuneo, executive director of the foundation.
Zeitgeist Arts and its movie theater and live stage complex showcases independent films as well as live performances. Two elements of the complex are Zinema 2, a two-screen independent movie house where beer and wine can be served, and Teatro Zuccone, a black-box theater. The third element that creates an interesting mix is the Zeitgeist Café with an eclectic, trendy menu and which often partners with the movie theater for movie-and-a-meal events.
The Zeppa Foundation also focused on community development and environmental sustainability. It uses its building to assist other nonprofit organizations and provides a gallery to feature local artists.
Just down the block at the NorShor Theatre, the last historic theater in downtown Duluth, commitments have been made to restore the space to its former glory, preserving an important landmark. Purchased by the city, the theater and two adjoining buildings are being redeveloped by Sherman Associates in partnership with the Duluth Playhouse. When finished, it will provide a mid-size venue for the Duluth Playhouse and also have the potential to attract new regional and national touring performances.
Plans are to relight the NorShor’s marquee in late 2015.
The arts scene is not confined to the eastern end of downtown nor to designated theater locations. Opportunities to engage in live performance abound in bars and restaurants the entire length of the downtown. You can take in a comedy act at Dubh Linn Irish Brew Pub or enjoy jazz while sipping a martini at Black Water Lounge in Greysolon Plaza. Folk, rock, bluegrass and blues musicians have all performed at Sir Benedict’s Tavern on the Lake, or you can showcase your own talent on open-mike night or a jam session.
These offerings, along with increasing diversity in restaurants, bring downtown Duluth alive at night. If ethnic choices appeal, just a few downtown choices are the India Palace, Hanabi Japanese Cuisine, Cantonese House and multiple Chinese food options, Va Bene Berarducci’s Caffé and Mexico Lindo.
For true American flavor, you have competing Coney Island restaurants with long histories and loyal followings – the Original Coney Island on Superior Street and Deluxe Coney Island on First Street. The Original café has undergone a recent interior makeover and the walls are adorned with artifacts from bygone eras.
For fine dining, two downtown hotels offer great options: Sheraton Duluth Hotel’s Restaurant 301 has fireside comfort, and the revolving restaurant, JJ Astor, at the top of the Radisson Hotel Duluth Harborview serves up a 360-degree view of Duluth and Lake Superior.

Jack Rendulich
Get Down, Duluth
Kristi Stokes heads the Greater Downtown Council.
The roots of this most recent renewed vibrancy in downtown Duluth started with the creation of a Downtown Taskforce in 2001. The group initiated a focus on the issues facing downtown, including high vacancy rates and safety concerns.
“There were so many challenges,” says Kristi Stokes, president of the Greater Downtown Council. “Many times we were all reacting rather than being proactive.”
Kristi and the council helped change all that. A key factor was creation of the Duluth Downtown Waterfront District in 2005. Property owners within the downtown boundaries are assessed an annual fee to fund special services like streetscape planters and flowers, as well as the highly visible neon green-shirted Clean and Safe Team often seen tidying curbsides or offering assistance and information to downtown visitors.
“We saw tremendous momentum building as a result,” Kristi says. “Business and property owners did not want to let things diminish and decided they would play a key role in strengthening downtown.”
It continues to be an active and successful initiative, led by the Downtown Council.
For Kristi, downtown Duluth covers a broad territory whose boundaries extend from Second Street to Canal Park and from Mesaba Avenue to 10th Avenue East. The downtown (with Canal Park and Park Point) has 75 retailers, 65 restaurants and 14 lodging establishments.
Parking spaces often are available in front of a business, but ramps help fill the gaps. There are 2,057 metered spaces, 1,472 of them on the street. Off-street parking stalls in city-owned ramps and other monthly lots account for another 2,155 spaces, according to Jeff Aanenson with Duluth Parking. Among the more recently constructed public ramps are the Technology Village Ramp on East First Street at Lake Avenue, and the Medical District Ramp on East 1st Street between 3rd and 4th Avenue East, with a skywalk connection to the Sheraton Duluth Hotel and Essentia Health. In privately owned ramps, open to the public, there are 3,687 additional spots in parking such as at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center, US Bank and Holiday Inn.
As Zeppa Foundation’s Tony Cuneo tells it, “In 2008 it was easy to pull up anywhere downtown. Now it’s far busier. Those who work downtown have likely noticed an increase in activity and energy, including on certain weeknights, compared with just a few years ago.
Parts of the streetscape have improved, and there’s a lively nightlife.
Many point to renewed confidence in Duluth and the economy as contributing to success downtown, including optimism from Mayor Don Ness.
“A few years ago there was a hesitancy to commit. Investors were waiting to see if the upward swing would continue,” says Daniel Fanning, communications and policy director for the city.
That reluctance may be disappearing.
“We have major development projects starting this year, with Maurices building a new headquarters … and the construction of a new transit authority multimodal hub, both in downtown Duluth,” Daniel says.
The projects, along with the NorShor Theatre renovation, will bring investments totaling $120 million downtown.
The new Maurices headquarters on West Superior Street will stand 11 stories and cover a city block. The project is scheduled for occupancy in spring 2016, with Maurices spending about $50 million and the city and state providing another $20 million for a public parking ramp and skywalk construction.

Courtesy Duluth Trading Co.
Get Down, Duluth
Duluth Trading Co., started in Duluth, returns this summer with a store that will feature clothing and other items.
The downtown upswing brought one Duluth business back to its roots and will again introduce a larger retail outlet on Superior Street.
Duluth Trading Company was born in Duluth, had its first headquarters here on a refurbished dredge barge floating in Lake Superior, and has developed products with quirky names and truly useful purposes since 1989 (like the Longtail T Shirt that “fixed plumber’s butt” exposure). Duluth Trading operated as a mail-order business until it opened its first retail store in 2010, but it never had a store in Duluth.
That will change with a mid-May opening at the corner of East Superior Street and 3rd Avenue East.
“We always had our eye on Duluth,” says Scott DeRuyter, senior communications manager for the company. “As soon as we saw the Woodrush Building, we knew it was a logical match. That building has great visibility and character, and we are encouraged by the energy in the area.”
The company decided the time was right to return to Duluth, Scott says. “Our customers have really enjoyed visiting similar historic downtown locations we currently have in Mount Horeb and Port Washington (both in Wisconsin).”

Jack Rendulich
Get Down, Duluth
Cocktails in the Rathskeller at Tycoons Alehouse.
Microbreweries also bring a new energy downtown.
Fitger’s Brewhouse locked in a commitment to its home in Fitger’s Brewery Complex this spring with a new 20-year lease. “With this lease in our back pockets, Fitger’s Brewhouse is ready to reinvest in our own equipment and facilities within the complex,” says brewhouse co-owner Tim Nelson.
The Brewhouse microbrewery has been updated with a new 15-barrel fermenter and larger tanks, in part for larger batches of beer, says Brad Nelson, company spokesman. The goal is to grow production from 3,000 barrels of beer annually to 3,500. It supplies craft beer to Tycoons Alehouse, Burrito Union and Redstar Lounge across from the Brewhouse in the complex. Redstar has evolved from a martini bar to a venue for beer and appetizers while hearing live music five nights a week (or waiting for a table in the Brewhouse).
Downtown, the burgeoning craft beer industry – brewpubs and microbreweries – also includes Bent Paddle Brewing, Canal Park Brewing and Carmody Irish Pub & Brewing.
Tim Nelson and partner Rod Raymond have renovated Duluth’s Old City Hall on Superior Street to create Tycoons Alehouse (with the Rathskeller on the basement level), drawing patrons for its food, Fitger’s beer and local, regional and touring talent.
Their other downtown plans include making the historic former railway depot in Canal Park, Endion Station, into a restaurant in early summer. Another Superior Street project, remodeling the Lange Motors Building (the former Carlson Bookstore) will begin with outside work and structural improvements this summer, Brad says, but the interior work will wait for the nearby NorShor restoration to increase interest in the location.
“I definitely feel downtown is going through a big revival and big changes,” Brad says. In the next two years or so, downtown Duluth “is going to be much more vibrant and much more alive.”
Many downtown businesses, like Security Jewelers, have a long-term commitment to the area. The Pickwick Restaurant & Pub celebrates 100 years in its current location this year. In 2010, the new owners renovated the Pickwick to restore the building aesthetic to the 1940s era.
Entertainment, restaurants, offices and retail businesses are just part of the mix that makes for a healthy downtown. The additional critical element is residences.

Jack Rendulich
Get Down, Duluth
Christine and Dan Stocke love their downtown condo, (especially when the snows fill the streets below their wall of windows and they don’t need to own a shovel). The spacious great room design and the large window make it bright and inviting. Dan’s artwork hangs on the walls.
Downtown Duluth is an easy walk for the Central Hillside neighborhood (downhill at least), but contractors have created a number of above-street-level options in the heart of downtown for those wanting the city life. New classy spaces hit all rent ranges, from low-income urban studios to high-end condominiums with spectacular lake views.
Dan and Christine Stocke knew when they moved from the East Coast back to Dan’s hometown of Duluth that they wanted to live downtown.
“It didn’t take me much convincing at all,” New Jersey native Christine says of their move to Minnesota. She loved Duluth’s atmosphere and scenery – especially in the heart of town. “We wanted to be able to walk. We wanted to have access to downtown.”
“We met in New York and there are two cities we love – New York and Duluth,” adds Dan.
When they heard the Sheraton Duluth Hotel would include condos in its top six floors, they signed up before the building was finished. They chose some design elements in their two-bathroom, two-bedroom home. The classy great room layout for the kitchen, dining room and sitting room spaces includes a wall of floor-to-ceiling windows looking out across Lake Superior or onto Superior Street. They even made their own glass-top dining table with metal legs created at Dan’s work, World Block Inc., and found clear acrylic chairs so that their dining table doesn’t block the views.
The couple takes advantage of being downtown, having a night out that features a moveable feast – eating appetizers, salads or entrées at various restaurants. “We go to Zeitgeist. We go to Pickwick. We go to Va Bene,” Christine says, ticking off the route.
She supports the downtown in another way. Her business, Zstudio-Fitness Studio, is just a few blocks away on First Street. The studio has had to move from an earlier location on Superior Street to the larger space. “It keeps growing downtown, which is so nice.”
Clients of the studio often attend their fitness sessions and then either take advantage of the nearby restaurant options or do a bit of shopping, she says. They aren’t afraid to park the car and walk around.
The couple doesn’t mind – in fact they embrace – the street noises from evening entertainment venues. They chuckle when they say they don’t own a snow shovel or lawn mower. Dan says his drive up the hill to work is a positive upstream ride. “My commute is going the opposite direction from the rest of the salmon.”
Downtown has become a desirable place to live. Employment opportunities and a livelier ambiance help drive the need for additional housing. Developers have been adding apartments, and upscale condos have become increasingly popular. But it’s still not enough.
“The key to all downtowns is getting more people living and working downtown,” says George Sherman, owner of Sherman Associates, which has developed numerous downtown properties, including Greysolon Plaza and the adjacent Sheraton Duluth Hotel.
“It needs to be a multiprong effort. Build a variety of quality housing options, improve services such as groceries, arts, restaurants and entertainment downtown, and promote jobs.”

Jack Rendulich
Get Down, Duluth
Eric Faust of Duluth Coffee Company on Superior Street.
New entrepreneurs are ready for the downtown opportunities.
Eric Faust had only one location in mind for opening his Duluth Coffee Company – Superior Street. In addition to his love of history and the historic buildings, he wants to be part of the neighborhood rebound.
“I’m very positive about the future of downtown Duluth. … We hope to be an anchor for the neighborhood and a fixture for the next 100 years,” Eric says.
“Many people are committed to making it work. We have already lived through the hardest times.”
Molly Hoeg and her husband, Rich, retired to Duluth, though we frequently put Molly to work on stories.